I was just wondering if any game developers were synthesizing their sound effects or music instruments instead of playing pre-recorded samples. I''ve always thought of it as a neat idea for allowing variety and dynamic sounds into the game, but have never seen it in action.

nope, haven''t done that but.....
would there be any real gain since you can work with samples and .mod format or something, and the synthesied sounds would be a software implementation of the midi synth of your soundcard and I think directX supports midi synth emulation...

It wouldn''t have to be an implementation of your midi synth. A somewhat more advanced software synth (based on, say, subtractive synthesis, though some others would work as well)could easily be made to react to ingame triggers w/ changes in tone color, etc. by manipulating the paramaters of the synth itself, while playing a preset pattern.

It would take some ingenuity, but it would be one way to have a dynamic soundtrack w.out being too random. There are some software synths w/ low processer overhead, and a few of those, or one very multi-purposed one running multiple patterns/channels, could provide a decent soundtrack for certain kinds of music. Combine that w. more traditional MOD/MIDI/WAV solutions and you''d have a monster!

Erm... my .02, that is. . .

If you see the Buddha on the road, Kill Him. -apocryphal